How to Make an Extra $2,000 a Month: 17 Beginner-Friendly Ways
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Are you looking to save money for a dream vacation? Or maybe you have new bills or want to free yourself from debt? Whatever your motivation for learning how to make an extra 2000 a month, this listicle will ensure you get that money!
Below, we'll talk about the best side hustles and passive income ideas that are ideal for beginners so you can start earning quickly and keep the money coming in regularly.
Read on to start bumping up your bank balance every month!
Contents
How to Make an Extra 2000 a Month With Side Hustle Ideas
A side hustle can be started in your spare time while still working a full-time job, and with perseverance, it can bring in a few thousand dollars extra each month.
Take a look at how to make an extra 2000 a month with simple side hustles.
Start a Niche Blog
Starting your own website is one of the best ways to make extra cash as a side hustle.
A blog is a piece of digital real estate, and once you have enough traffic, you can make money in various ways, such as:
- Blog advertising revenue
- Affiliate marketing
- Sponsored posts
- Selling digital products
To get started, research how to start a blog and decide on a niche that interests you, but that is also a subject people are searching answers for.
Learn about SEO for websites so your site shows up in search engines and starts to get seen as an authority with your target audience.
The money you earn will depend on your blog subject, traffic levels, and the different types of monetization tactics you use.
Need a helping hand?
Check out the Affiliate Lab by Matt Diggity.
This course teaches the EXACT steps to build, rank, and monetize a blog quickly.
Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is another proven way to make extra money online, and with experience, you can earn $2,000 a month or more.
Take a short online course to learn how to become a freelance writer and study writing techniques to know what might be expected of you.
The beauty of this type of work is that you can make your office anywhere - like a beach cafe in Thailand or a cozy desk at home away from office politics.
There are multiple types of remote writing jobs available, such as:
- Copywriting
- Blog writing
- Technical writing
- White paper writing
- SEO writing
- Journalism
- Ghostwriting
While pro experience isn't needed to become a freelance writer, it helps if you have a writing portfolio to show what you can do and you can use content writing tools to improve your work.
Freelance writers earn, on average, $25.94/hour in the US, but this can increase to $50 - $100 an hour if you have experience and write in a specialized sector.
Check out these best freelance writing jobs for beginners.
Start a YouTube Channel
Creating YouTube videos is a fun way to make free money on your own schedule.
Some YouTubers make a few hundred dollars monthly from their videos, and others make thousands and even millions a year! (Learn more about how much YouTubers make here).
So you can see, there's a lot of money to be made, and you can create videos about anything, with popular YouTube video ideas being:
- Gaming
- Travel
- Food and cooking
- Health and Fitness
- Personal Finance
- Beauty and makeup tutorials
- Product reviews and unboxing
After setting up your channel, post videos regularly to increase YouTube subscribers and boost its popularity.
Once you have at least 1,000 subscribers and over 4,000 hours of watch time you can apply for monetization on your videos.
Create Facebook Ads for Businesses
There are many Facebook marketing tools to help businesses drive traffic and increase sales.
However, many brands and businesses don't have the time or know-how to use them, and you can make good money by helping out.
Earning an extra $2,000 a month or more as a Facebook ad manager is possible if you have experience in this role or are willing to learn.
The main responsibilities of a Facebook ad manager include:
- Create and manage Facebook ad campaigns
- Analyze and optimize ad performance
- Develop ad strategies for different clients depending on their goals
- Experiment and test out different ad formats
The average salary for a Facebook ad manager in the US is between $51 - $67/hour, so you can see this is a well-paid skill!
Be a Virtual Assistant (VA)
Virtual assistants make money online by supporting businesses with various tasks such as data entry, research, customer service, and email management.
This job role has replaced the general office assistant for fully remote companies or those looking to cut back on in-house staff and costs.
The average hourly salary for a VA in the US is $24.83, but if you offer specialized virtual assistant services, this rate can go up to $100 an hour!
Specialized VA services include:
- Technical services
- Bookkeeping
- Graphic design
- Digital Marketing
- Language Translation
If you have specialized skills that not all other VAs have, you can demand a high rate for your services and earn $2,000/month pretty easily as a side income.
Check out these best virtual assistant jobs for beginners.
Online Tutoring
One of the best side hustle ideas is to tutor students online through a dedicated language website.
If you have the experience, you could even start your own tutoring business online and help students locally or internationally.
To make money tutoring, you'll need experience in at least one subject, such as:
- English
- Math
- Science
- History
- Chemistry
Consider your educational background and what subjects you have experience with.
If you feel you don't have the right formal education, some companies let you teach English online without a degree such as Cambly and Palfish.
The average hourly wage for a tutor in the US is $23 - $36/hour, but will vary on your experience and background.
Social Media Manager
Social media management is a top way to earn a few thousand dollars monthly in your spare time.
Brands and businesses know the value of growing their social media presence but often don't have the time or knowledge to manage their own accounts effectively.
As a social media manager, you'll be tasked with:
- Setting up and managing multiple social media accounts
- Creating and posting social media content that engages an audience
- Analyzing and developing social media campaigns
- Engaging with customers on various social channels
- Staying knowledgeable about the latest social media trends
If this type of side hustle interests you, build a strong portfolio to show potential clients what you can do.
Just make sure you have the right social media management apps to help streamline your time and manage multiple clients effectively.
The average salary for a social media manager in the US is $21.51, which can rise significantly with experience.
Check out freelance platforms such as FlexJobs to find social media manager jobs.
Sell Old Gear Online and Offline
When searching how to make an extra 2000 a month, it pays to look for any old clothes, books, kitchen equipment, or electronics you may have lying around.
By selling these old items to new owners, you could earn a thousand dollars monthly or even more if your stuff is in good condition.
The best options for offloading old suff include:
- Garage sales. Search your attic, shed, cupboards, and spare rooms to find the gear you want to get rid of. Put up posters around your neighborhood and invite neighbors to your garage sale.
- Facebook Marketplace. This is a great way to make money fast, as Facebook Marketplace is hugely popular. Take clear photos of your items and write detailed descriptions so buyers know what they're getting.
Learn more in our guide on where to sell DVDs for quick cash.
Dog Walking
Dog walking and pet sitting are brilliant ways to earn extra cash while hanging out with furry friends.
You would be responsible for traveling to a pet owner's home to look after the animals and take them on walks if requested.
A love of pets is essential, but apart from that, dog walkers and pet sitters don't need any formal qualifications to secure work.
Check these sites to find paid jobs:
The good news is that owners pay good money for their pets to be cared for well, so you can expect to earn between $20 - $50 an hour for these services.
Complete Odd Jobs
If you're handy around the home, you can answer the question of how to make an extra 2000 a month by completing high-demand odd jobs for people in your local area.
I'm talking about tasks that people either can't do themselves or don't have time to do themselves.
A few ideas include:
- Mowing lawns
- Furniture assembly
- Cleaning
- Home repairs
- Mounting pictures
- Painting
- Moving house
You can set your own rates for these types of jobs and potentially earn $2,000 a month or more once people get to know you.
Start by talking to your neighbors, putting up posters in your local area, and promoting your handy skills on sites like TaskRabbit.
How to Make an Extra 2000 a Month With Passive Income Streams
Another option to make an extra 2000 a month is to set up passive income streams.
These are excellent if you live a busy lifestyle as you do the work upfront, and the profits keep rolling in with little further work.
Here are a few beginner-friendly passive income streams worth checking out.
Stock Market Investing
Stock market investing is a top way to earn extra cash each month, and it's even easier with the help of apps like Acorns that invest your spare change.
Acorns is a financial services company that specializes in robo-advice and micro-investing.
You can sign up to Acorns in under 5 minutes, set your investment goals, and set up automated investments with your spare change so it all happens on autopilot.
Important note - just remember that investments don't bring instant monthly returns. But with time, they can help you reach your financial goals.
Learn more about micro-investing with Acorns.
Real Estate Investing
There are many real estate side hustles to earn extra cash, and real estate investing is one of the most profitable.
Real estate crowdfunding is a good place to start as a beginner, as it is where you pool your money with other investors to purchase a property together.
Check out these real estate crowdfunding platforms:
While some investments pay out monthly, many will pay out quarterly through dividend distributions, so it's important to do your research to get the returns that suit you.
Sell Digital Products
Selling digital products is a proven method for making money online that can be hugely profitable.
And digital products only need to be created once, and then they can be sold over and over again, with minimal future updates.
Your digital downloads can be sold on a WordPress website or through popular marketplaces like Amazon, Podia, Etsy, or Thinkific (check out our Thinkific review).
Check out these easy digital product ideas to make and sell:
- Canva templates
- Digital art commissions
- Online courses
- No and low-content books such as planners, notebooks, and coloring books
If you have a strong social media presence, use these platforms to promote your digital downloads and drive traffic to the sales pages.
The earning potential will vary depending on your price point, but selling on multiple platforms could earn $2,000 a month or more.
Sell Stock Photos
If you're an avid photographer, you can make a few hundred dollars or even thousands a month from selling unique images.
Bloggers and businesses always need new photos for blog posts and marketing materials and often buy from stock photo sites.
Sign up as a contributor on multiple stock photo marketplaces such as:
You'll be asked to submit an initial batch of photos for consideration, and if accepted, these photos will be available for sale to people worldwide.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the process of promoting a product and making a commission when someone buys through your link.
It helps if you have a large audience, but you can start affiliate marketing with no followers by:
- Building a niche website and using search engine optimization to drive traffic
- Posting review YouTube videos and linking to the product in the video description
- Posting adverts on Google or Facebook and directing people to an affiliate page
- Offer a lead magnet to get people onto a newsletter where you link to affiliate products
Twitter affiliate marketing and TikTok affiliate marketing are also really lucrative, where you build up a niche audience and promote an affiliate program you know they'll love.
Check this affiliate marketing plan for guidance on how to get started.
Rent Out a Spare Room
One of the best ways to earn passive income is to rent out a spare room.
Travelers and workers new to your area often rent out rooms for a few nights or longer, and if you don't mind the company, room rental can earn you a few thousand a month easily, especially in cities.
Check these sites to list your room for rent:
These companies act like the middlemen between the host and traveler and will take a commission for every room rented through their site.
Sell Print On Demand Apparel
There are many top print-on-demand (POD) companies where you can sell your designs to a large audience.
All you need to do is upload your images, choose the type of apparel you want them printed on, and enjoy passive income when you make sales.
The print-on-demand company will take care of the rest, such as printing, payment, delivery, and customer service, and will take a cut of every sale.
Check these POD companies:
Get inspired with these artful print-on-demand business name ideas.
Final Thoughts on How to Make an Extra $2,000 a Month
Knowing how to make an extra 2000 a month will take the pressure off the finances and give you a little extra to treat yourself and your loved ones.
And there are so many profitable opportunities online and offline that you're sure to find something that suits your skills, passions, and needs.
You could even start with one side hustle, and when this becomes successful, move on to the next; before you know it - financial freedom may be within reach!
Need more ideas?
Read this guide on how to make $1,000 extra a month.
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